Aaron Judge Admits Being “Hurt” by Juan Soto’s Decision to Join NY Mets in $765 Million Deal

Aaron Judge expressed that he was a bit 'hurt' to see Juan Soto choose the New York Mets over the New York Yankees.

Aaron Judge Admits Being “Hurt” by Juan Soto’s Decision to Join NY Mets in $765 Million Deal

Juan Soto and Aaron Judge (Image via Sporting News/Imago)

This weekend, the MLB will host its first-ever Rivalry Week. One of these matchups will see the New York Yankees and their captain, Aaron Judge face the New York Mets and former teammate Juan Soto in the Subway Series. Recently, Judge opened up about the decision of Soto leaving the Yankees and joining the Mets in a mega $765 million deal.

Soto shattered several sporting records in December 2024 when he signed the 15-year $765 million deal with the NY Mets. The 4-time MLB All-Star thus snubbed the 16-year $760 million offer of the Yankees and decided not to re-sign with them.

He joined the Yankees in December 2023 through a trade from the San Diego Padres. In his lone season in the Bronx, Soto smashed 41 home runs in the regular season and played a key part in the Yankees first trip to the World Series since 2009.

After a crushing 4-1 defeat in the Fall Classic against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Soto made it clear that he was available to all 30 teams. In the end, the battle for him came down to the two New York teams. Soto chose the Mets over the Yankees.

Ahead of this big meeting between the two NY teams at the Yankee Stadium, Judge opened up about Soto’s departure from the team with NJ.com. The 2024 American League MVP admitted that he was a bit “hurt” to see him join their rivals.

Obviously I want the Yankees to build the best team and I know anytime you add a Juan Soto, he’s going to make the team better, so that part definitely hurt a bit.

Judge also opened up about his attempt to try and make Soto choose the Yankees and re-sign with the team. In the end, Soto decided to take a new challenge and joined their cross-town rivals.

Aaron Judge discusses Yankees offense in 2025 season following the exit of Juan Soto

The loss of Juan Soto was a massive blow to the offense of the New York Yankees. With him joining the New York Mets, the Yankees were forced into Plan B. So far, the plan has worked well for the Yanks with captain Aaron Judge leading the line once again.

Aaron Judge and Juan Soto
Aaron Judge and Juan Soto (Image via MLB)

The team roped in two former National League MVPs, Paul Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger, to fill the void left by the departure of Soto. The Yankees have hit the most home runs in the league through 43 games with 76, with several players contributing to it.

While speaking with the reporters in the post-match conference, the reigning AL MVP believes that the guys behind him will get the job done if he fails to do it.

If I don’t get the job done, I know Goldie (Paul Goldschmidt) and Belli (Cody Bellinger) behind me are gonna do or Trent (Grisham) to lit up the game with a home run which kind of gets everybody to relax a little bit. So now we’re excited.

While Judge is currently tied for the most home runs in the league, several other Yankees players have stepped up from time to time. Trent Grisham, who came along to the team with Soto as a part of the trade with the Padres, has hit 12 home runs and ranks 2nd among his teammates. Apart from him, Goldschmidt and Bellinger have combined to hit 10 home runs (5 each) so far.

Aaron Judge is having another historic season with the Yankees

Aaron Judge is once again wreaking havoc in the batter’s box. The New York Yankees slugger continued his impressive run in the game against the Seattle Mariners. As per records, his start to the 2025 season is one of the best in Yankees history.

Aaron Judge
Aaron Judge (Image via Imago)

In the game against the Mariners on Thursday, the Yankees’ star went 2-for-4 with another home run to his name. Through the first 43 games, Judge has batted with a high .412 batting average and has an OPS of 1.279.

This is the third-best start for a Yankee player after 43 games. Only MLB Hall of Famers, Lou Gehrig in 1927 (.413 BA, 1.304 OPS) and Mickey Mantle in 1956 (.419 BA, 1.367 OPS) had a better start after 43 games in a season.

If Judge is able to keep these numbers rolling until the end of the season, it would likely see him being named the AL MVP once again. For now, he and his team will turn their attention towards the New York Mets and hope to continue their winning run.

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